Women's Fiction Competition 2025 - Adult Novel

Our competition is open to unpublished fiction novels of at least 50,000 words in any genre for adult and/or young adult readers. 

Your submission

Submit the first 5,000 words only in the first instance. Longlisted entrants will be asked to submit their finished manuscripts along with a synopsis later in the judging process. 

Prizes

The winner will receive £5,000.

The winner and three finalists will also receive the following prizes:

Manuscript feedback from The Literary Consultancy, one of the leading editorial and mentoring agencies in the UK. 

Pitch training at a day-long professional workshop in Newcastle upon Tyne, where participants will learn to summarise and present their book in an effective way.

Personal introductions to agents and editors at a Talent Party in central London. 

Both the workshop and Talent Party are arranged in partnership with New Writing North. Mslexia will contribute a total of £100 towards each finalists’ travel expenses.

Deadline

The deadline for all entries is 23.59GMT, 22 September 2025.

Results

Entrants will be notified in January/February 2026.

Longlisted entrants will be notified and asked to send in their full manuscripts in January/February 2026.

The winner and finalists will be announced on 1 June 2026.

How to Enter

Add the entry fee to your basket and proceed through the checkout (you will be asked to set up, or sign in to your Mslexia account during the process). Once the order is completed you'll be taken to a 'Submit' page where the entry form is located. You can submit at a later date by logging into your Mslexia online account and going to the 'competitions' tab.

Visit our Entry Instructions for a more comprehensive guide on how to enter (including formating and eligibility) and be sure to read our Rules before submitting.

Enter below!

Have a question about formatting, eligibility, or anything else?

Please see our Entry Instructions. Be sure to read the rules before entering. For any further information, call us on 0191 204 8860 or email competitions@mslexia.co.uk